On this Thanksgiving we have much to be thankful for. Though we can’t be there to enjoy it with you, we are wishing everyone a happy holiday with friends, family and pie.
Of course we’ll still have turkey with you in spirit (this turkey recipe is my fav). The Christmas market in Stuttgart is also getting ready. We have been watching them build it for the past few weeks with the ice rink now open and hot spiced wine called Gluhwein (Good recipe idea for Thanksgiving too) and Strudel vendors in the city center. You have to see it in person to believe the amount of work and detail that goes into each booth. More pictures to come as soon as it’s open this week!
HOUSTON, WE HAVE THE INTERNET!
Kabel BW finally came, emailing them works better than calling. It took another 3 days for the service to activate after it was installed, but so far so good, we can call and write home again.
While on internet hiatus, aside from German school all day everyday and working overnight, we have been busy.
Still no lights fixtures hung, we did not meet the Thanksgiving deadline. We also decided to fore-go a Thanksgiving dinner party which I am bummed about. You all know I love a good dinner party. Instead we will go right into Christmas (Weihnachten – vine-knock-tin) this year as the Germans do.
Day Trip: Heidelberg
We took a day trip to Heidelberg which is less than an hour from Stuttgart on the train. The Christmas market hadn’t opened yet but we could see where everything was being set up. There is a Baden–Württemberg regional ticket that we of course didn’t learn about until after, it is a flat rate of 24 euro to go anywhere in the region, plus anyone traveling with you cost only 4 euro more per person. We will do that next time.
Heidelberg main station is about a 25 minute walk to the center of town or there is a rail or bus option too, but we walked there and trained it back. The tram to/from the station is included in the same ticket cost from Stuttgart.
To Do: Following the signs to Alstadt, Old Town, there’s a super long shopping street on the way to Marktplatz and the Castle. Marktplatz is the main square where the Cathedral, City Hall (Rathaus) buildings, University and starting point for the hike up the hill to Castle (Schloss). Cost for the tour and Castle entry is 10 euro. Well worth the amazing view from the top without the tour too. The Castle also holds the worlds largest wine barrel used by the palace. It holds over 220,000 litres (58,000 US gallons).
The Food:
Schneeballen: Everywhere we looked in Heidelberg were balls of crêpe or pie dough dipped in different things. We had no idea what this was as it is not in Stuttgart that we have seen. We hiked back down from the Castle after dark so we couldn’t try one on this trip since everything in town was already closed, but it’s a must for the next visit in Heidelberg.
Our new favorite bar snack is Weißwurst und brezel. It’s a white in color veal sausage, house made with beer. You get 2 sausages per order with a pretzel so perfect to share.
Local Heidelberg Breweries: PROST!
Kulturbrauerei Heidelberg AG and Vetter, both in walking distance from the Castle.
Next Stop: Austria for the Vienna Christmas market! Cost: 33 Euro each way flying via German Wings airlines.
German Wings Blind Bookings will be our official new way to travel when we are indecisive about where to go on a long weekend with a budget. You pick your dates and departure airport. Select the theme of your trip if you want to experience culture, an urban city, a party spot etc. and if you don’t care about the times you fly on your selected dates (that part was a bit nerve-racking to not have control of), you just take the gamble and book it. German Wings will tell you where in the world you are going and what time you fly. It worked beautifully in our favor this time so we’ll definitely try it again.
Travels Through Europe 
Leave a Reply